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Courage

You know how there’s supposed to be this thing you’re doing in life of “getting to know yourself”? You’re out there trying to to figure out what is most important to you, how and with whom you want to spend your time, and most of all…WHAT YOU’RE GOOD AT. You know, so you can do more of that, and less of the things you aren’t so good at.

In this week’s earlier post, we went deep, y’all, and got into some big questions about what makes us tick, and why it can be so hard to just follow that beat and be ourselves. Authenticity is so magnetic in other people (even if the expression sometimes makes you wince), and yet so disconcerting when we see it in ourselves. We want it, but at the same time, we won’t let ourselves have it. Read More

Of all the different journeys that mindfulness can take you on, the most profound space you find may be right where you started. One of the first things that happens when you start a mindfulness practice is that you get uncomfortable. Distracted, fidgety, bored. Frustrated, judgmental, exhausted. If you check out then, that’s where you stay. I mean, you won’t realize it because you won’t be bored, etc. anymore, but all that will stay right there under the surface.

If you choose to come back, though, things start to shift. If you can sit with being bored or irritated without running away from it or doing something else to soothe it, then something else builds, too.

It’s called courage. Courage to show up and breathe through hard things. Courage that shows you that the “monster” you were scared of facing (those uncomfortable reactions) isn’t really as big as you thought it was. Stare at it long enough, and it will shrink, and eventually disappear.

Mindfulness shows you what’s really up with you in any given moment. It connects you straight to what you’re thinking, feeling, craving and avoiding. The challenge — the reason to keep trying even if it’s hard — is that learning to be present through those uncomfortable moments teaches you how to stay with yourself, no matter what, and also shows you that none of those experiences – fun or not – last.

Learning to tolerate discomfort (not pain! let’s be clear) allows you to be present for every moment of your life, and even more so – get to see what’s on the other side of it. Hint, hint: it’s usually some pretty amazing stuff.